


My Baby Shot Me Down

by billie_rose



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout - Fandom, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Action, Angst, Betrayal, Drama, F/F, F/M, Multi, Other, Romance, Smut, Unhealthy Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:49:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/billie_rose/pseuds/billie_rose
Summary: Love is fleeting in the Mojave. Quill Valencia Turner does her best to avoid it at all costs. She's a hard-edged, cold-hearted assassin and mercenary with the many gangs of the New Vegas Strip under her thumb. But after meeting one of the charismatic rulers of the Strip, Quill finds herself happier and wrapped up in someone else like she'd never been before. Little does she know what it's all going to cost her in the end.Super messy and angsty fic about my courier and Benny! Don't get me wrong: I love roasting good ol' Benny Gecko at any opportunity, but I've always been endeared with the potential his character had. I'm basically using my idea of Benny in this bad boy, so I hope you guys enjoy!





	1. When the Night is Over

**Author's Note:**

> Woo!! A new fic!! If you read Radiation and Other Drugs, thank you for checking this one out as well!! It means a lot. And if you haven't check out my other fic!!! It's a goody, if I do say so myself.
> 
> Song: When the Night is Over by Lord Huron

The whistle of the desert wind and muffled conversation from unfamiliar voices shook Quill out of a daze as she awoke. Her vision was blurred and the right side of her jaw throbbed. There was a small fire crackling just to her left that dimly illuminated the fact that she was on some type of cliff, but even with the glow of the Strip far off in the distance, she couldn’t quite tell where she was. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision and everything came rushing back.

 

_She’d just passed through Goodsprings. The sun had set not long before. Fresh bottle of whiskey in her hand, a cigarette pinched between her fingers, the little box she was tasked to deliver in her pack, it was like every other delivery she’d made. But as the lights of Goodsprings faded almost completely from view, she felt a shift in the wind. The rush of footsteps came shortly after and a rough hand grabbed her elbow, but Quill was ready. She spun enough to yank out of the stranger’s grip, turning to bring the bottle down on his head. Angry voices rang out around her as the explosion of glass echoed through the Mojave and whiskey splashed across her shirtfront. The man fell to the ground groaning, blood gushing from the ugly wound, so Quill turned and chucked the jagged remains of the bottle in her hand in the direction of one of the other figures. As her eyes quickly scanned the perimeter, she feared that this wouldn’t end well. There were just too many. But she dropped her cigarette and pulled the baseball bat off of her back anyway, tightening her grip as the group converged on her._

 

_She’d be damned if she wasn’t going to make whatever this was the hardest fucking job of their lives._

 

The metallic taste of blood in her mouth was unmistakable, and so was the distinct sound of a shovel digging into the dirt not far from where she sat, knees pressed into the coarse ground beneath her. When she tried to move, she found her hands bound by thick rope. A few strong tugs made her realize she wasn’t getting out of it. She gritted her teeth and a bolt of pain shot through her face, pulling a sharp groan out of her. Some of the voices stopped and two figures moved into her line of sight. They were two Khans, by the look of it. One stared down at her with a dark grin.

 

“Morning, princess.” He cracked his knuckles and took a step closer. “You ain’t ‘sposed to be up yet.”

 

She jerked against the restraints again, not breaking eye contact with the Khan. Her gaze promised pain worse than what they’d hit her with, and she saw a brief flicker of fear in the man’s eyes before he shook it off and took another step toward her. Before he could go further, another voice from behind Quill stopped him in his tracks. This one was alarmingly familiar.

 

“Enough of that shit. We can just take care of it now.”

 

She turned her head as far back as she could manage, and her eyes followed the shadow of a man as he stepped past a few other figures and rounded her to stand by the small fire to her left. He finally met her gaze after lighting himself a cigarette. A moment of silence passed where each did nothing but stare at the other. The two Khans couldn’t help but look between them nervously. But the quiet ended when Quill did something that surprised everyone but the man now standing before her: she laughed.

 

“Benny.”

 

He blew out a thick stream of smoke, shaking his head with something along the lines of disappointment in his expression. “I told you, baby. I told you not to run off and be a courier.”

 

“And I told you you shouldn’t buy that awful jacket.” She smirked. It hurt to speak, to smile, to laugh, but she pushed the pain down as much as she could manage. “So I’m not around as much, and you kidnap me? You’ve gotten clingy.”

 

“That ain’t it.” He wiped his hand across his frustrated frown and ashed his cigarette. There was something in his eyes that made Quill uneasy. “You just don’t get it, Q.”

 

“You’re damn right I don’t get it. What the fuck is all this, Benny? What’s going on?”

 

The skin of her wrists began to sting as she kept struggling against the binds. Benny’s eyes left hers and swept around the space behind Quill.

 

“You all go on. I’ll meet you down there when I’m done.”

 

The expression of the red-headed man beside him soured. “‘Ey, what’s up with this bullshit? Just get--”

 

Benny yanked the gun from his jacket and had the barrel tucked under the man’s chin before Quill could blink. There was fire in his expression that she’d seen only twice since she’d known him. The man froze, eyes wide.

 

“Let it be, pal. You’re getting paid.” He pressed the gun upwards and the Khan swallowed. “That’s all that matters, yeah?”

 

The man nodded, practically scrambling out of Quill’s line of sight when Benny lowered the gun. Several pairs of footsteps hurried away, presumably leaving them alone.

 

Benny stepped in closer and bent forward, offering Quill the cigarette. She took a long drag, her lips just ghosting against his fingers that held the cigarette, and blew the smoke back up into his face before he could move away. Benny hardly flinched. He slid the pistol back into his jacket, and his hand reemerged with what just looked like a poker chip that glimmered in the firelight. She knew right away that the chip must’ve been what was in the little package she’d been on her way to the Strip with, but couldn’t quite understand what Benny would want with it.

 

“I didn’t want you to get tied up in this shit, Q.” He paused, flipping the chip between his fingers before sticking it back in his jacket. “But you wouldn’t listen to me.”

 

“This cryptic bullshit isn’t really telling me anything.”

 

“I know, baby, but--”

 

“You don’t get to call me that,” she snapped, jerking so hard against the rope around her wrists that it started to fray. “Not now.”

 

His eyes flickered between the binds and her face. He sighed and flicked away the cigarette, reaching back into his coat for the gun again. _Maria_ , she remembered him calling it the first time he’d showed it to her. She’d spent plenty of nights lounging in his bed, watching him from across the room as he polished the weapon with careful hands.

 

“I fell in love with you, Q.” His thumb swept over the portrait on the grip. His dark eyes glimmered in the dim light of the fire that cast shadows across his somber face. “Never planned on telling you that. But I want you to know.”

 

 _That_ caught her off guard. Benny didn’t love. Neither did she. That was the silent agreement they’d made shortly after they met on the Strip: just fun. Gamble together, cause a little trouble together, and fuck afterwards. It was a good time. But no matter how much both wanted to avoid it, something more became inevitable. That was why Quill took the courier job in the first place. She started to love Benny, and she needed to get away from it because she knew he’d never feel the same.

 

She fought to keep her tone harsh. “Bullshit.”

 

“Nah, dollface. Not this time.” He took a few steps closer to her, tightening his grip on the gun. “That was part of why I didn’t want you to leave and be a courier. But I also knew if you did that, there was a chance you’d get twisted up in business. And you know business always has to come first.”

 

“You coulda told me--”

 

Benny shook his head. “You already knew too much about my business with House. It was too much of a risk for both of us.”

 

“Too much of a risk, huh?” She laughed again. “Look at where you got me, Benny.”

 

He pursed his lips and nodded, looking almost apologetic. Almost.

 

Benny bent forward again, tucking her hair back behind her ear with his free hand. The tips of his fingers slid over the shell of her ear and back around to ghost down her jaw, just stopping at her chin. He tilted her head up and she didn’t resist. Quill knew she should. He’d knocked her out, kidnapped her, had her tied up in the middle of nowhere, and was about to kill her himself. But she couldn’t make herself turn away when he closed the short distance between their lips. It was a soft kiss; gentle in the way they’d only been in the early hours of morning, when the Strip went quiet and they lay curled in each other’s arms with nothing but their breathing and the crackle of the radio in Benny’s suite filling the air. When he pulled away, the regret in his eyes made Quill feel sick. He pressed one more kiss to her forehead before stepping back, pistol raised and expression cold.

 

“I’m sorry, Q.”

 

“Not Q.” She licked her lips and dropped her gaze ever so briefly. “It’s Quill.”

 

His face fell and she saw his fingers clench more tightly around the grip as he swallowed and composed himself.

 

“Quill.”

 

They locked eyes, and Quill gave him a lopsided smile. She was almost disappointed to see his hand shake as he pulled the trigger just before her world went black.

 

* * *

 

 

They hung around the shitty little casino in Primm later that night. The rest of the guys paid Benny no mind as he sat at the bar, fingers tracing the rim of a shot he’d yet to take. It wasn’t the Strip, but leave it to the his boys to fish out the best people they could no matter where they stopped for the night. They tried to get Benny to join them. There were some beautiful girls here, sure, but he couldn’t get her out of his head. The echo of the gunshot, the spray of blood, her body slumping over into the sand, it kept replaying in his mind over and over and over. He knew he didn’t have much of a choice; he couldn’t risk anyone or anything getting in the way of an independent--of _his_ \--New Vegas. Q--

 

 _No, Quill_ , he thought to himself.

 

He looked down at his suit jacket, dragging his hand across his arm, for the hundredth time that night. Almost like he expected the splatter of blood that stained the right sleeve of the black-and-white fabric to wipe away. Of course, it was still there. The bright red that it’d been before was slowly fading to an ugly, muddy brown.

 

_Quill._

 

Quill would’ve probably gone along with it. She hated the NCR, hated the Legion, didn’t care for House. But there was no telling with her; she only did for herself, just like Benny. It was part of why they were so great for each other, ‘cause apparently nothing makes for a good relationship like the mutual acceptance and understanding of selfishness.

 

But he also knew that, even if she hadn’t been the courier with the chip or hadn’t become a courier at all, her being at his side would’ve given House the opportunity to use her against him, and it’d gotten to the point where Benny wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle that happening. He really had fallen in love with her, despite his every instinct against it. Easier just to off her himself and finish alone what he’d started alone.

 

He reached into his coat and pulled out another cigarette, eager to burn the familiar taste of whiskey and sugar--of _her_ \--off his lips. After he lit it, he finally threw back the shot. Vodka.

 

He wasn’t too sure if he’d ever be able to stomach whiskey again.

 

* * *

 

 

She awoke with a gasp, shooting up from the couch, hands scrambling for her bat, her knife, her pistol, anything. The world was fuzzy but Quill could tell she was somewhere unfamiliar.

 

“Whoa, hey--”

 

The voice from the other side of the room brought the world back into focus, but before she even bothered to see who it came from, she snatched a lamp from a little table next to the couch and flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a splintering crash and yanked a cry of alarm from whoever it landed near.

 

Quill was frantically searching for something else to throw when a kindly-looking old man hurried into the room, looking almost as frightened as she was. Her arm lowered the end table she was about to hum in his direction.

 

“Who--” She coughed, her throat rough and voice raspy. “Who are you?”

 

The man swallowed, eyeing the table in her hand. “Doc Mitchell. I’m not gonna hurt you. Would you mind sitting down? Don’t want you to aggravate your head, miss.”

 

Quill paused before dropping the table. Her hands flew up to her face, fingers dancing over a wide strip of bandaging across her forehead. She shut her eyes and exhaled as the memories of last night came rushing back with the force of a sandstorm, knocking her back onto the couch like Doc Mitchell asked.

 

_Benny tried to kill her._

 

Doc Mitchell was speaking to her--that she knew--but she wasn’t taking in a word he said.

 

Betrayal, murder, death. None of that was uncommon in the wasteland. None of that was new or shocking to Quill. Hell, she made most of her living with those tools. People had betrayed her and tried to kill her before too. None of that had ever even stung. It was just life out there. But this was different. The image of Benny holding the gun up to her head, the awful look in his eyes that screamed that he didn’t want to do it, the blinding flash that sent her spiraling into darkness, those few moments that Benny--and she, at the time--thought were her last, all burned in her brain like a raging fire.

 

She looked up abruptly, stopping Doc Mitchell mid-sentence.

 

“How am I still alive?”

 

He wrung his gnarled hands together, almost looking apologetic. “Securitron brought you to me. Said he found you half-buried in a ditch. The bullet...” he drew a line with his finger on his own forehead, from the side all the way back behind his ear, “well, wouldn’t say it just grazed you, but it was closer to that than anything else. Almost lost you from heavy bleeding. But I think you made it out just fine. There’s gonna be a not-so-pretty scar, but I did what I could.”

 

She swallowed and stood without warning. “I have to go.”

 

“But--”

 

“Doc, I appreciate what you did for me.” The fire in Quill’s eyes burned brighter than it ever had. “But I need to leave.”

 

She started towards the door, but Doc Mitchell stood quickly to follow her.

 

“Wait. At least take your things. Damn robot found those too, by where he found you.”

 

Quill paused and turned, watching him as he retrieved her pack, rifle, and bat from the other room. The bat was stick coated in gore from the fight with whoever Benny had kidnap her. The doctor carried it with careful fingers. She took her things from him unceremoniously, thanking him with only a brief nod of her head before pushing her way out of his front door without another word.

 

It was just dawn. The sun hadn’t quite risen, but it peeked over the horizon in a way that she knew it was coming. It was easy to tell that she was back in Goodsprings. With her mind and emotions scrambled, at least she could take solace in knowing where she was. No one was out, but she hurried faster than necessary to an old abandoned house where she sometimes stayed if she got stuck in the shitty little town longer than she anticipated. When she was inside with the door shut firmly behind her, she dropped her pack and her weapons and fell onto the bed she’d made before in the far corner of the house. Her head throbbed, her entire body shook, and she was overcome with a wave of emotions she couldn’t define no matter how hard she tried.

 

And for the first time in what had to be years, Quill cried.


	2. Blue Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive!! And going to update my other fic too!! Soon!! Probably :)
> 
> Song: Blue Moon by Frank Sinatra

_**Three years earlier** _

 

Quill didn’t go to the Tops for fun. Ever. She’d been before, sure, but the other casinos were just where she tended to spend most of her time. She wasn’t quite sure why; it wasn’t like Gomorrah was such a ‘home sweet home’, and the Ultra-Luxe definitely wasn’t. She just never went to the Tops for anything other than business.   
  
For some reason, her friend Bev was itching for a change of pace tonight, so she dragged Quill along to the Chairmen’s home turf.

 

“The Chairmen are some of the finest, Q. You’ve got no idea.”

 

Bev touched up her lipstick in the little cracked compact mirror that was probably her prized possession. Quill rolled her eyes. Of _course_ she had an idea. She’d done plenty for the Chairmen. They somehow had far more dirty work than the other groups on the Strip, but Quill wasn’t going to complain. They paid her the caps she asked for without question.

 

When they pushed open the doors leading into the Tops, the Chairman at the front desk lit up. He was a little young but ambitious man, barely looking older than 18 or so. He leaned forward, almost to the point where Quill thought he might fall, as she and Bev approached.

 

“Q, hey!”

 

She reached out and almost lovingly patted his cheek. “Hey, Danny. You doing alright?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I am.” He paused, the littlest bit of confusion leaking into his expression. “We don’t have a job for you or anything. Whatcha doing here?”

 

“Just here to play tonight,” she said, giving him a sweet smile. “That alright with you?”

 

He blinked and nodded hastily. “Oh, y-yeah, Q, of course. You two head on in.”

 

She bent across the counter to give him a kiss on the cheek before she and Bev strolled into the casino. Bev grabbed her arm and gave her a look.

 

“You know him, Q? And what’s he talkin’ about? A job?”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Bevvie. I just do some other work on the side.”

 

She looked suspicious, but with the prospect of free drinks and caps in the room just ahead, Bev let it go and wandered off toward the bar. Plenty of eyes followed her swaying hips and Quill smiled. Her friend would have a drink in her hands in no time and would forget their interaction with Danny in no time.

 

Quill made her way to the cashier to swap a sack of caps for chips, eager to bleed the Tops dry.

 

* * *

 

  
Quill got tied up in a game of Blackjack, much to the unlucky dealer’s dismay. Her pile of chips grew steadily with almost every hand. She felt someone move close beside her before she saw them, but didn’t look up from her game. It wasn’t Bev, that much she knew. A hand slid a glass of whiskey close to her arm that rested on the table.   
  
“I don’t like whiskey.”   
  
A chuckle came from beside her. It was definitely a man. “No? Why not?”   
  
“Tastes like shit.”   
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the squirrelly man in the chair next to her suddenly leap up and leave the table. Quill tapped the table once. The dealer set down another card. _Blackjack._ As the people around her cheered for the umpteenth time she turned her head just enough to see a different man slide into the vacant seat.   
  
Dark hair slicked back, clean white suit jacket, cigarette in one hand and a glass of something darker than the whiskey he’d set down beside Quill in the other. He was handsome, with a sharp jaw and big, bright eyes that reflected his mildly cocky smile. He was definitely one of the Chairmen, and probably one high up in the group, by the look of it.   
  
“Means you haven’t had good whiskey.” He swapped the glass he’d given to Quill with the one in his hand. “This’ll change your mind.”   
  
She swept the chips she won into her pile and waved the dealer off, who then let out a sigh of relief. “Then why didn’t you give that one to me first?”   
  
“Most girls just take the drink and say thanks,” he said as he took a drag of the cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke into the air above them. “So I’ve never had to offer the good stuff.”   
  
Quill snorted, her fingers tracing the edge of the glass. “The good stuff?”   
  
The man nodded and gestured to the drink, prompting her to try it.   
  
She waited a moment, but picked up the glass. Her nose wrinkled as she brought it up to her face. She looked up at the man, who was watching her intently with a glint of something like a challenge in his eyes.   
  
Quill cocked an eyebrow and threw back the contents of the glass. It was smooth and smokey, unlike any of the other sharp and disgusting whiskeys she’d ever had. She swiped her tongue across her teeth.   
  
“Not bad, huh?”   
  
She shrugged and slid the glass across the table and back to the man. He took a sip from the cup he’d originally given her and made a face.   
  
“I’m Benny.”   
  
The corner of her lips quirked up in a slight smile. She’d heard word of Benny Gecko. Head of the Chairmen himself.   
  
“Q,” she said, moving the chips from the table into her pack.   
  
“Q?” He gave her an odd look. “Interesting name.”   
  
“I’m an interesting woman.”   
  
Benny laughed. It was low and smooth, not unlike the whiskey he’d just given her. He leaned forward ever so slightly, elbow resting on the blackjack table. “You here alone, Q?”   
  
Her gaze flicked over to a table across the room, where Bev lounged across the lap of another handsome Chairmen, her red lips stretched into a wide smile and his hand on her thigh. Quill turned her attention back to Benny, whose eyes she caught sweeping up and down her figure.   
  
“I might be. Why do you ask?”   
  
Benny cocked an eyebrow. “Haven’t seen you around here before, doll. Thought maybe I could show you around, if you wanted company.”   
  
God, he was handsome. She’d planned to have a tame night, but he was starting to change her mind. Her answer was clear right away, but she took some time before speaking. He seemed the type to enjoy the game.   
  
“Only if you can promise me a good time, sweetheart.”   
  
He eyed her with an almost amused look before standing, dropping his cigarette in his glass and leaving it on the table beside the emptied one. He held out his hand to her. Quill shouldered her bag and laid her hand in his as she stepped down from the stool.   
  
Damn. He was tall, too.   
  
As he led her away, she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. She felt the eyes of the Chairmen who’d been watching Benny from afar on her. Some exchanged caps with each other and she couldn’t keep herself from laughing out loud. He looked down at her with a questioning expression.   
  
She nodded towards some of the men. “Looks like your boys had bets on me. Or us, I guess.”   
  
“Sorry about that,” he said with a chuckle.   
  
“That’s alright. I’m a little flattered. They thought I was too pretty for you.”   
  
He gave her a smile. “They’re right.”   
  
“Ooh, smooth talker.”   
  
“The smoothest, baby.” They passed through an archway out of the main casino room and it grew markedly quieter. “You ever seen the courtyard?”   
  
When Quill shook her head, Benny made a turn down a low-lit hallway. They made small talk over the vulgar sounds coming from the doors they passed, almost as if they couldn’t even hear it, before reaching a large door. Benny pushed it open and the warm air that pervaded the Mojave washed over Quill. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.   
  
The courtyard was empty. Palm trees were sprinkled along the tall stone wall that enclosed the space, and a large pool sat at the center. The lights from the surrounding casinos glimmered in the water. It had that same sort of peaceful air that Quill only found when she had to make camp in the middle of nowhere and didn’t encounter anything trying to kill her.   
  
“This is beautiful.” Her voice dropped into something soft; it was a tone she didn’t let slip often to others. “Thank you for showing me.”   
  
She looked up at Benny, who was staring down at her with a smile that’d lost the arrogant edge it’d had at the blackjack table. She bit her lip and returned it before turning her gaze back to the pool.   
  
After dropping her pack, Quill let go of his arm and turned her back to him, pulling her mane of curly hair out of the way.   
  
“Unzip me?”   
  
Benny let out a laugh. “Right to it, huh? I should take girls out here more often.”   
  
“No, not yet sweetheart. I want to swim.”   
  
“Swim?” She felt his fingers on her back, tugging down her zipper and exposing her skin to the warm air. “It’s not as bad as any old puddle, but it’s a little irradiated.”   
  
“Isn’t everything?”   
  
The dress dropped to the ground, leaving her in just her thin black underwear. She laid one arm across her chest before turning back to face him. His eyes dipped without shame and she fought the urge to just drop her arm.   
  
“Guess so, babydoll.” He fell back into one of the ragged chairs sitting not far from the pool’s edge and gestured out. “Have at it.”   
  
“You’re not coming?”   
  
Another laugh. “Not much of a swimmer.”   
  
Quill gave him a look, but turned away and moved toward the pool. She dropped her arm and lowered herself to the water’s edge, letting her feet slip in. It was pleasant; still warm from a long day in the sun, no doubt. Lights that let off a soft orange glow dotted the walls of the pool, which she thought made it seem even warmer. She could feel Benny’s eyes on her as she braced herself and lowered the rest of her body into the pool, even pulling her head under for a few moments of overwhelming, absolute silence.   
  
When she resurfaced, she swam around a bit before moving back to the edge and rested her arms on the side of the pool, just leaving her chest hidden by the wall. She laid her chin on her hands and let her eyes wander before they landed back on Benny, who’d lit another cigarette.   
  
“Got a question for you, Q.”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
He tapped the butt of the cigarette, sending ashes fluttering to the stone ground. “You the same Q that my boys hire sometimes? The merc?”   
  
“Unless there’s another one, yeah.” She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “Why?”   
  
“You’re one of their favorites. Guess I can see why.”   
  
Quill laughed. “Probably ‘cause I get shit done, too.”   
  
“No doubt,” he said, holding up his hands and smiling. “Shelled out quite a bit of caps for your work.”   
  
“Gotta pay more for the best.” She paused and cocked her head to the side with an undoubtedly flirtatious smirk. “Come swim.”   
  
He shook his head, still smiling. “You set on that?”   
  
“Pretty much.”   
  
Benny sighed, hesitating, but flicked his cigarette away in resignation before undoing his jacket and laying it on the chair. Quill watched him undress without shame. When he was down to a pair of boxers, he moved to sit at the edge of the pool beside where she laid. When it was clear he was content just doing that, Quill grinned and swam to the center of the pool, but kept her back to him. It wasn’t too deep; it came up just above her chest. There was something oddly comforting about being in the pool. She always loved the bathhouse at the Ultra Luxe, and it was really the only reason she ever went there, besides the good pay she got for sleeping with the uppity people that spent their time there. It was a nice change of pace to be outside, though, with the soft orange lights illuminating her skin under the water. She stood letting her arms float at the top of the water until she heard the sound of him finally dropping into the pool himself. She felt him move to stand behind her and he rested his chin on the top of her head, making her laugh.   
  
“You’re beautiful, doll. Never seen anyone like you walk through the casino before.”   
  
“I know,” she said, and could feel him smile. She leaned back into him. He was warm, warmer than the water they stood in. “You use that line a lot?”   
  
“Not until tonight.”   
  
Quill felt herself blush, which was not good. She was warming up to Benny in a way she didn’t usually do with people, and it was unsettling. She shook it off before she let it ruin the mood. It was probably nothing. She was just in a different place than usual with a particularly handsome man, so she was off her game. Things would be normal in the morning, and she could leave and not let much happen again.   
  
“Thinkin’ pretty hard down there, baby.”   
  
Quill exhaled. “Nah, just enjoying the peace. It’s nice out here.”   
  
“Yeah,” he said, and she felt his hands on her shoulders. His fingers danced across her slick skin in soothing strokes. They didn’t move anywhere promiscuous, just roamed across her shoulders and upper back. She hummed happily and shut her eyes, letting her body relax and sink further back into him. It felt good. Too good. She could really sit here all night.   
  
“So, Q,” he murmured, lifting his chin from her head, “that your real name?”   
  
“Not exactly.”   
  
“What’s that mean?”   
  
“It means,” she turned around and slid her arms around his neck, leaving her chest just inches from him, “to you, my name is Q.”   
  
Benny blinked, and she could tell he was fighting to keep his eyes locked with hers.

 

“That alright with you, Benny?”

 

“Yeah, Q,” he said, and licked his lips, giving her a crooked smile. “You really ain’t like the other girls that come through here.”

 

“So you’ve said,” she sighed. “Why, though?”

 

He shrugged. “You walk through the place like you own it. You got my guys dropping whatever they’re doing when you _might_ need something. They’re only supposed to do that for me, baby.”

 

Quill laughed. “Your ego is showing, big guy.”

 

“Maybe,” he said, grinning, letting his hands move to rest on her waist. “but that’s just not supposed to happen, you know? It’s kinda funny. You should feel like a threat.”

 

That provoked a small but almost devilish smile. She stood on tiptoe, moving her face so their lips were mere inches apart. Her gaze lingered on his eyes, rich brown with little bands of black. Her words dripped with honey.

 

“I _am_ a threat, Benny Gecko. The sooner you learn that, the better.”

 

He raised his eyebrows and she caught him swallow, but there was a flicker of challenge and amusement in his eyes. _Good._ When he moved, their noses just barely brushed. “Understood.”   
  
Quill moved her face back the littlest bit. “People come out here much?”   
  
Benny’s voice dropped as he finally let his gaze do the same. “Not at all, Q.”   
  
“Good,” she murmured, letting her fingers caress the back of his neck. “You gonna kiss me, then?”   
  
He didn’t hesitate. His lips were softer than she expected, but the kiss was eager. Benny tightened his grip on her waist and pulled her close. Her fingers moved up into his hair, mussing the carefully slicked-back look. He didn’t seem to mind based on how his fingers curled into her skin. A surprisingly deep rumble came from his throat when she took his bottom lip between her teeth. His hands swept down just below her butt and he picked her up, prompting Quill to wrap her legs around his middle. He walked her across the pool, sitting her just on the edge before he pulled away from her lips. They locked eyes again, and Quill could swear the look of lust in his made them even darker than they’d been before.

 

She ran her hand from his collarbone down to his chest with a soft hum.

 

“What?”

 

Quill shrugged. “Appreciating how pretty you are.”

 

Benny laughed and kissed her again, letting his lips fall away from her mouth and trail across her jaw, down her throat. He coaxed soft moans from Quill with gentle nips of his teeth. His hands slid up her sides and his finger just traced the soft skin right under her breasts, when--

 

“Uh, Benny?”

 

A man’s voice came from across the courtyard. Benny pulled back from her with a flash of irritation in his eyes.

 

“What?”

 

Quill turned her head to look at the man. It looked like another Chairman, whose gaze she caught roaming over her.

 

He swallowed. “We, uh, grabbed a guy making too much at one of the tables and we--”

 

“And what, Chuck?” Benny leaned on his hands on the edge of the pool, his chest just pressed against Quill’s. “What? You had to come ask me if you should do the same fuckin’ thing we always do when we got someone rolling too high?”

 

Quill watched the man with amusement as he practically quivered in his suit at Benny’s words. As he stuttered coming up with a response, she snaked her hand down between her and Benny, dipping her fingers under his boxers and wrapping them around his already hard cock. Benny let out a groan that he tried to mask by clearing his throat and Quill grinned.

 

“I--I’m sorry Benny, I just--”

 

“Don’t apologize, just-- _fuck_ \--go do your fuckin’ job! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

 

As he hurried back inside the Tops, Quill yelped and turned back to Benny after he gently bit her shoulder.

 

“You tryin’ to embarrass me in front of one of my boys?”

 

Quill moved her hand up and down in long, slow strokes. “Maybe.”

 

“You want to-- _shit, Q--”_

 

She bit her lip and gave him a sultry smile. “Want to what, Benny?”

 

“--go up to my room?” He planted another kiss to her neck. “Little more privacy up there.”

 

She slid her hand out of his boxers and rested her arms back around his shoulders.

 

“Fine by me. But I’m wearing your jacket up there.”

 

He made a face. “What? Why?”

 

“I’m not getting my dress wet.”

 

“Right, right,” Benny laughed, “so you’re getting my suit jacket wet.”

 

”Exactly,” she said, and leaned forward to give him another kiss.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
